Review: The Pulling by Adele Dumont

* Copy courtesy of Scribe Publications *

Opening with a disclosure about her fingernails, readers picking up The Pulling quickly discover that Australian author Adele Dumont is extending an invitation to join her in exploring her deepest darkest thoughts, warts, fingernails and all. Dumont even tries to warn sensitive readers:

"Before I go on, let me say that the chapters that follow this one may be hard for you to bear; unless you are of my kind, doing what I do would hurt you." Page 49

In a deeply personal memoir that can also be read as a collection of essays and vice versa, author Adele Dumont shares that she has trichotillomania (from the Greek word for hair + pull + mania), however she never uses the word. Instead, she prefers to call it pulling in order to highlight the physical nature of the act and the mental pull of the urge; hence the title of this book.

"The whole process was mysteriously painless: the hairs on my head, I learned quickly, sit as shallowly as birthday candles in a cake, can be removed as effortlessly as a grape can from its stem." Page 49

As you can see, the writing is evocative, yet the private thoughts regarding her upbringing and relationship with her mother and sister often gave me pause on the page as I marvelled at her self awareness and deep level of disclosure. Many reminiscences were tough, but this one made me smile in recognition:

"She scorned the kind of parents who fed their kids anything too processed or frozen or coloured. When my sister wanted devon for her lunches like all the other kids, my mum would screw up her face and tell her: 'They make that stuff out of embryos.' She didn't seem to trust the kind of people who bought play-dough or birthday cakes from the shops instead of making them from scratch..." Page 24-25

The Pulling is an intimate self examination of habit, ritual, compulsion and obsession without slipping into pointless navel gazing or devolving into a pity party. In an intensely personal narrative, Dumont attempts to explain her detailed thought process before, during and after a session of pulling, the affects it has on her physical body, her confidence levels and self esteem.

When describing the feeling of being in the pulling state, Dumont shares:

"So captive is this state that from within it I have watched my phone ring on the carpet beside me, but been incapable of reaching across to pick it up. In my laundry, which adjoins the lounge room, once I accidentally forgot to unplug the sink that the machine drains into, and listened to the sink fill then flood, knowing - at some level - that it must be seeping into the carpet, but helpless to interrupt it. When I've been overtaken, I have stood and watched water in my porridge simmer away into the air, and then the oats turn black and crackle with dryness, and my ears fill with the smoke alarm's shriek." Page 72

I can't even begin to imagine how paralysing this must be and just how debilitating the condition is. Exploring a topic that brings us shame and examining the matter from all sides within the relatively safe confines of our own minds is admirable, but to put pen to paper and share them with the world takes immense courage and I was in awe.

At times reading like a diary or confessional, I did find myself wondering why the aspect of alopecia wasn't explored. If I noticed a friend or colleague with a patch of missing hair or an ill fitting hair piece, I would - incorrectly in this case of course - assume it was alopecia and move on. I wouldn't ask questions to clarify my assumption, judge the person negatively or bring attention to their condition in the same way I wouldn't comment if a person has visible vitiligo or male pattern baldness. I wish the author had considered this as a reason she was never 'confronted' or 'outed' by those close to her; although I'm prepared to accept that perhaps she has and it just didn't make the final edit.

The Pulling was hard going at times, strictly due to the intensely personal nature of the disclosures and the feelings they stirred up. In reading the author's accounts, I found myself better understanding the mental gymnastics underlying other compulsions like gambling which was insightful. Dumont is optimistic about the future, trying to reduce her triggers and pull less:

"Here is the basic truth: I wanted to stop pulling, but I also wanted to pull. And one of these desires was always stronger than the other." Page 183

I can certainly relate to the contradictory nature of our thoughts and how some desires are in direct conflict with others; the desire to be healthy and the desire to eat foods that don't aid in the achievement of that goal. The pleasing introduction of a life partner and their close relationship with the author gives the reader hope M will be able to provide the strength and support she needs:

"I had long thought of the hypervigilance and deception my condition required as being a barrier to intimacy. But now I saw another dimension to my secret: its disclosure could be a means of offering intimacy." Page 239

Dumont shares many personal epiphanies and self discoveries and I applaud her courage in making them public. I also found myself wondering how it will be received by those who know the author well while hoping it aids in her healing. This collection won't be for all readers, but there's much to be gained within the pages of The Pulling by Adele Dumont and I won't be forgetting it in a hurry.

My Rating:

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

P.S. The book also touched on a few of my favourite topics: Rapunzel Syndrome, bezoars, hair as identity, the religious and historical significance of hair and more. Those interested in hair might like to check out my review on Hair by Scott Lowe.

Review: The Lady Di Look Book by Eloise Moran

* Copy courtesy of Hachette Australia *

Princess Diana is one of the most famous women in my living memory and her legacy continues today, more than a quarter of a century after her death. There is a revival in Lady Diana inspired fashion choices and I find it interesting that many of the women following the trend were born after she died in 1997. Perhaps Princess Diana is to this generation what Marilyn Monroe is to me, a captivating icon of a not too distant era. Princess Diana's public and private life were scrutinised in life and continue to be analysed after death and yet a fresh perspective via her wardrobe choices and fashion statements was too appealing to resist.

Eloise Moran is a fashion journalist and her Instagram account @ladydirevengelooks is so successful, we are now lucky enough to view her work in this collection, The Lady Di Look Book - What Diana Was Trying to Tell Us Through Her Clothes.

Beautifully presented in a wonderful hardcover, this collection showcases many styles and fashion choices as Moran documents Diana's life with her accompanying essays. As the author admits, Moran was only 5 years old when Princess Diana died in 1997 and came to look up to her as a fashion icon much later, after experiencing her own breakup. I think there's a lot of theorising and projecting going on by the author - and the rest of the world - when it comes to imagining what Lady Diana was thinking or feeling in these photographs but aren't we all guilty of that? I know I am.

This book has been described as a 'smart visual psychobiography' and I'm not embarrassed to admit I didn't know what this was. Apparently a psychobiography is a biography that aims to understand an historically significant individual through the use of psychological theory and research. I wonder if The Lady Di Look Book is my first psychobiography. I think it'd be fun to find out so I'll need to go back through my reading list. In the meantime, if you know any you think I might like, please recommend them in the comments section.

If you enjoyed this review, you might also enjoy my review of Our Rainbow Queen - A Tribute to Queen Elizabeth II and Her Colourful Wardrobe by Sali Hughes. It seems I have developed an interest in the fashion of the Royal family and I'd love Eloise Moran - or Sali Hughes for that matter - to produce a book about the Duchess of Cambridge, Catherine Middleton.

If you're an anglophile, photographer, fashion guru, influencer or history lover (wow, this book appeals to many different audiences) then I highly recommend this.

Thanks to the publisher, you can also Look Inside before deciding to read this for yourself.

My Rating:

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Spotlight: Survivor - Life in the SAS by Mark Wales

Intro

Long before I became a book reviewer, I served in the Royal Australian Navy. I've reviewed several military memoirs at Carpe Librum over the years, but today I wanted to shine a spotlight on a powerful memoir coming out this week.

Survivor: Life in the SAS by Mark Wales is published by Pan Macmillan tomorrow and you might remember the veteran - and now published author - from the TV show Australian Survivor in 2017. I enjoyed the season immensely and was happy for Wales when he married his on-screen sweetheart Samantha Gash later in 2019.

In 2013, I had the honour of interviewing Major General John Cantwell AO, DSC and in his words, Survivor: Life in the SAS is 'searing, humbling and uplifting... Mark Wales is a true inspiration.'

If you're looking for a moving and inspiring memoir about courage, redemption, transformation and purpose by an honest Australian, look no further.

Blurb

How do you rebuild your life when you've hit rock bottom?

Mark Wales thought his life would end in a cornfield in Afghanistan.

Mark and his SAS troops emerged from that scorched battlefield twelve hours later, his mentor gunned down, his dream career now a nightmare. Over four deployments of intense warfighting, Mark watched the line between right and wrong become blurred. When he left the SAS he was adrift, crippled by guilt.

On a mission to rebuild himself, Mark turned his life around. He fought his way into the gates of a US Ivy League business school and into the boardrooms of top-tier international corporations. He spent years navigating failure in a quest to find new meaning in life. With every setback Mark counterattacked, discovering the tactics and tools needed to become more resilient, and to find happiness, belonging and purpose.

Told with gripping suspense, humour and touching warmth, Survivor is Mark's extraordinary life in and out of the SAS, a story of resilience and a testament to the power of transformation.

Author Mark Wales

Bio

As a teenager growing up in the mining towns of Western Australia, Mark Wales had a zealous ambition; to join Australia's most revered military unit, the Special Air Service Regiment (SAS). He achieved his goal, embarking on a professional career that would eventually lead him to Afghanistan. There, as a troop commander in charge of 30 elite soldiers, Mark led combat missions deep behind enemy lines.

 

Today, he is an accomplished corporate speaker, an apparel business founder and owner, and proud family man. Mark lives with his wife Samantha, and young son in the Dandenong Ranges, Victoria. Visit Mark's website for more info www.markwales.com.au 

Interview with Sandy Macken, author of Paramedic - One Woman's 20 Years on the Front Line

Author, Sandy Macken

Sandy Macken is the author of Paramedic - One Woman's 20 Years on the Front Line and she joins me today to chat about her memoir, her career as a paramedic and her reading habits.

Thanks for joining us Sandy. What was the most challenging part of writing your memoir Paramedic? I wanted to give the reader the opportunity of walking with me step by step through some of the toughest jobs I have faced. I had to completely immerse myself in the thoughts and feelings of every single moment in order to achieve this. 

One particular chapter was so stressful in the writing and editing that my hands would become sweaty and my nervous system become quite activated. (Can you guess which one? lol) So I had to pick and choose the right times to do the writing, because I knew that it would be a bit of a ride for me. Along with the challenge would come the gratitude, for the peace and good health I was enjoying, so it was both "bitter sweet" and that is the point of the book; to inspire that balance of heart and mind of both our challenges and the blessings that often hide among them.

What advice would you give to those aspiring to become a paramedic? Know that the job will grow your soul and that can be hard work but well worth it. Strive to keep an open heart.

What training do you need to undertake in order to become a paramedic? What are the different levels/titles/ranks you progress through?
Nowadays most people come in after a three year degree in paramedicine. The levels progress from trainee to qualified paramedic. There is then a competitive application process for those wishing to further specialise. There are various specialisations including "Intensive Care" which the stories in the book reflect. Other areas of specialisation include Extended Care and aeromedical as well as Special Operations which is similar to a rescue role.

What do you wish the public knew when it comes to receiving treatment from a paramedic or calling an ambulance? 

A calm environment and honest answers is helpful. There is really good medical advice given through the triple zero number.

What are the most common mistakes good samaritans make when giving first aid before an ambulance arrives on the scene? 

I probably don't see most of them. Simple helpful measures and timely calling for an ambulance is best.

Have you ever delivered a baby?
Been there a few times! A job that always raises the heart rate. I helped a woman give birth on a bench seat outside hospital at 5.00am on a cold winter morning. That was the day I learned that it is possible to give birth sitting upright on a chair. And that birthing women are completely awesome.

Do you ever need to go to court as part of your job?
Yes, I have taken the stand a few times. It isn't a regular occurrence, but I have been called as a professional witness, mostly for violent crimes.

Do patients you’ve assisted ever ask to meet and thank you down the track? How do you feel about meeting patients you saved?
Yes. It is AMAZING to meet the patients. I have had a couple of experiences that were quite beautiful. What really struck me is how different a person looks when they are close to clinically dead. That experience is something that I take with me forever too, so to meet that person, whom I had the privilege of helping in such a dramatic way for me has been incredibly moving and sometimes part of a healing journey too. It is often a great success, to preserve life for someone. The gift for me is that incredible sense, that life is so precious.

What’s your favourite way to unwind after a difficult shift?
Swim in the ocean. It has a cleansing effect second to none. It lifts my spirit.

What kind of books do you enjoy reading?
Books that educate and inspire me.

What are you reading at the moment?
Our baby is five months old, so reading time since her birth has been a shared delight. We are reading The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgeson Burnett.

What was the last truly great book you read?
I have to say The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery. A classic tale that teaches me something new every time I read it. Another one I read to my daughter.

Thanks for joining us Sandy and for all the good work you do in the community. Paramedic is published by Rockpool Publishing.

Review: The Name of Death by Klester Cavalcanti

RRP $29.99 AUD
Published 24 April 2018

* Copy courtesy of Allen & Unwin *

Klester Cavalcanti is a top investigative journalist in Brazil and The Name of Death is the result of more than seven years spent interviewing the Brazilian hitman guilty of killing 492 people.

Told in a narrative non-fiction style, Julio Santana is 17 years old when his story opens with his first 'kill' in 1971.

What unfolds from there is a true crime account of Santana's life which is informative, eye-opening and sad. What I found immensely frustrating though was a jump in the timeframe of 20 years or so, which means we missed an important part of his life which included meeting and marrying his wife and having children.

Julio Santana's story then finishes in 2006 with no update to tell the reader what he's been up to these past 12 years.

These major gaps in Julio Santana's life made his story feel disjointed, and having been so invested in his teenage years, I wanted to know how he was living his life now.

The Name of Death by Klester Cavalcanti is recommended for fans of the true crime genre.

My rating = ***

Carpe Librum!

Review: Pentridge - Voices from the Other Side by Rupert Mann

* Copy courtesy of Scribe Publications *

Pentridge Prison was a hulking and menacing structure of bluestone walls and guard towers and operated as a prison in Melbourne for 150 years. In 1997 it was closed and since then parts of the prison have been demolished and the developers have moved in to revitalise the area.

In an effort to preserve the history of Pentridge as much as possible before it was made unrecognisable by developers, Rupert Mann undertook a 5 year project to capture the testimonies of former staff and inmates. Pentridge - Voices from the Other Side is the result and contains personal stories from a variety of people alongside many photographs of the now deserted and run down prison.

I enjoyed reading the 14 interviews with former prisoners and staff, however some of them were understandably heavy going and required a good interval of time before I was ready to move on to the next one.

Given Rupert Mann is a photographer, I was expecting the photographs to be of better quality and composition. However when I learned he didn't have permission to photograph Pentridge, it became clear he was probably trespassing, short of time and therefore unable to take the equipment he might have liked.

Included in the back of the book was a breakdown of each of the divisions at Pentridge - including purpose, capacity and floor plan - which would have been better served at the front of the book.

Ultimately I'm thankful to Rupert Mann for preserving the history of Pentridge in these interviews and wish Pentridge had been preserved as a museum. Pentridge - Voices from the Other Side by Rupert Mann is an important book and recommended for readers of history and true crime and fans of abandoned places photography. Yes, it's a thing.

My rating = ***

Carpe Librum!

Review: The Commando - The Life And Death Of Cameron Baird, VC, MG by Ben Mckelvey

* Copy courtesy of Hachette Australia *

Australian writer Ben Mckelvey has done a great job telling the reader about the life of Cameron Baird, VC, MG in The Commando - The Life and Death of Cameron Baird, VC, MG. With the help and blessing of Cameron's parents Kaye and Doug Baird, Mckelvey gives us an insight into the life of Cameron Baird, killed in action in Afghanistan in 2013.

Posthumously awarded the 100th Victoria Cross, Cameron Baird, VC, MG is one of Australia's most decorated modern soldiers. Mckelvey takes the reader back to Cam's childhood as a talented young football player, joining the Australian Army and his career as a soldier.

Here's a quote from Page 46:
"When building a modern soldier, the Australian Defence Force (ADF) prefers to start from a somewhat razed foundation, so in their early days at Kapooka the recruits can do no right. No matter how they make their beds, clean their bathrooms or fold their uniforms, they will have done it incorrectly. There will be punishments, and very loud vocal objections at their ineptitude. They are not permitted to contact their family or friends for the first week, though they are encouraged to write letters to loved ones back home."

And on Page 47:
"This is all part of ADF strategy. After an initial burst of harsh discipline, recruits are allowed to progress their skills, and to take pride in their development. This is when Cam began to feel a love of soldiering that rarely dampened ever after."

I easily related to this, having joined the ADF earlier than Cam and survived the rigorous Officer training at ADFA to go on and serve in the Royal Australian Navy. Prior to reading this biography, the name of Cameron Baird lived in my mind alongside those other greats of the Australian Army, Ben Roberts-Smith and Mark Donaldson, but now I have a sense of the man, the son and the soldier and what made him a hero. 

According to the CO of 2 Commando Regiment, Cam "will never be forgotten by his regiment, his Army or his nation." In writing this biography, Ben Mckelvey is helping to make sure of it.

My rating = ****

Carpe Librum!

Review: The Trauma Cleaner - One Woman's Extraordinary Life in the Business of Death, Decay, and Disaster by Sarah Krasnostein

* Copy courtesy of Text Publishing *

I watch a tonne of cleaning and hoarding shows; you name it, I've probably watched at least one episode. (See below). So, when I learned there was a biography about Victorian based trauma cleaner Sandra Pankhurst, I was immediately onboard. And that was even before I learned just how fascinating a life she has led. In her life, Sandra has had several names, been a husband, father, drag queen, gender reassignment patient, sex worker, small businesswoman and trophy wife. 

Sandra is now a trauma cleaner with a business in Frankston, Victoria (Specialised Trauma Cleaning STC) and deals with cases of hoarding, deceased estates, flood, fire, crime scene clean up and more.

Author Sarah Krasnostein has known Sandra for several years and has done a great job documenting Sandra's upbringing and complex life, given her subject's unreliable - and sometimes, complete lack of - memory. (I shared the author's anger and frustration at the end when she learned her subject still wanted to donate her estate and remains to a University instead of her newly re-discovered son. Argh!). Sarah's persistence and determination to tell her subject's story, warts and all, definitely shines through.

Early in the book on Page 16, Sarah writes of Sandra:

"She has been intuitively righting her environment - cleaning it, organising it, coordinating it, filling in gaps where she can, hiding them where she can't - since she was a child. It is her way of imposing order on her world and it brings her profound satisfaction."

The biography unfolds in chronological order, with client stories interspersed between the chapters and it flows well. I wanted more of the client stories - and the way in which Sandra changes their lives - and a little less of her own backstory, but I think that's just personal taste. 

There's no doubt Sandra has led an amazing and unusual life, but it's her work as a trauma cleaner and business owner that interested me the most and I was left wanting more.

My rating = ****

Carpe Librum!

P.S. Here are just some of the cleaning and hoarding shows I've enjoyed watching over the years: How Clean is Your Crime Scene (watching on Netflix at the moment), Obsessive Compulsive Cleaners, How Clean Is Your House, Anthea Turner: Perfect Housewife, Call the Cleaners, Clean House, Hoarders and Hoarding: Buried Alive.

Review: Beyoncégraphica - A Graphic Biography of Beyoncé by Chris Roberts

* Copy courtesy of Murdoch Books *

For an unauthorised and unofficial biography, Chris Roberts has managed to assemble an informative and satisfactory biography of Beyonce here. Bound in a very attractive hardback edition, Beyonce's epic rise to fame unfolds in a combination of stunning photographs, intricate infographics and chronological chapters.

Her time with Destiny's Child is covered well, and I was keen to learn more about her hard work ethic and the success of her early days.

Beyonce's romance and subsequent private marriage to Jay-Z is included as is the release and success of all of her albums. Beyonce's world tours are covered and her extensive philanthropic work is also mentioned.

Many of the infographics were unexpectedly detailed and a few were a little difficult to work out at first. My favourite infographic of the book showed how much it costs to maintain Beyonce's body per year and the amount of money she spends on her hair was out of this world. (Particularly given I had just received a haircut that cost me $27).

The photographs are impressive and definitely capture Beyonce's beauty and allure as an icon for feminism and girl power around the world.

In summary, I recommend Beyoncégraphica - A Graphic Biography of Beyoncé by Chris Roberts to fans of Beyonce and her back catalogue of music; those interested in the music industry; readers with an interest in feminism and music, and those curious about the rise and influence of celebrity in our society.

My rating = ****

Carpe Librum!